Poetry is a perfect container for personal experience, but what are the merits of throwing on a “mask” and writing in a completely different voice? This panel examines what might be learned by using voices, experiences, and identities, fictional or real, that are not our own. Can we access wilder spaces in our imagination? What arguments or truths might we realize when we aren’t limited by the self? Panelists will explore the possibilities and challenges of using persona in their own work as well as consider what new or seasoned writers might also gain in playing with this remarkable artistic device. Panelists Nancy Takacs, Shanan Ballam, and John Belk, moderated by Sunni Brown Wilkinson.